FIG. 1 shows a conventional generic mesh network 100. Generic wireless mesh network 100 (also referred as a client mesh network), includes nodes (subscriber stations) 101 and 117 in a wireless network forwarding traffic cooperatively over multiple radio links. Some of the participating nodes have wired connectivity to the Internet and hence serve as gateway nodes providing internet connectivity to the entire network. The architecture is economical when coverage, and not necessarily capacity, of the network is of primary concern. Mesh network 100 exemplifies a typical mesh network. Current commercial, community, and public safety mesh networks are typically compatible with WiFi®, which is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. Commercial players include companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Microsoft, Tropos, Mesh Networks, BelAir, Nortel, FireTide, Propagate, Strix, Mesh Dynamics, MeshAP, MIT Rooftop, Rice TAPs. Examples of municipality WiFi mesh networks can be found in Urbana, Kingsbridge, Queensland, MuniWireless (France), Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Chicago. The proliferation of mesh networks has already started even though the current WiFi-based trends promise coverage rather than capacity.
With the ubiquity of wireless subscriber stations, there is a real need in the market place to expand wireless mesh architecture to a wireless system to increase the coverage and the traffic capacity of a wireless system.